Our 2010 Gala Holiday Drawing!

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Welcome to our 2010 Holiday Drawing –it's always a special event and this year is extra-special. I've been hoarding prizes and there's a plentiful bounty for lucky participants.Some of the prizes are shown above. They include hats, T-shirts, books (Galapagos or Pilots Watches) as well as IWC notebooks. Also wallets, lighters, a wine carrier, and a beach case. Even a travel game and a watch travel case. There's lots of impossible-to-find IWC items available here. There are more IWC prizes than anywhere else in the universe, and one can be yours.

All you have to do is post an answer below to the following:You're in a meeting in Schaffhausen with IWC's top executives. The idea is to introduce a blockbuster watch...one that will become IWC's biggest revenue producer and a best seller throughout the industry in its category. Not the watch you necessarily like best nor one you might predict will be produced. Instead, we ask for your ideas about a real market winner. You can make one of three choices:

--a best-seller in the new 2011 Portofino line, or

--a best-seller in the new 2012 Pilot's Watch line, or

--a very expensive, ultra-complicated watch in the Specialities line

It's your call....what should IWC introduce? Should it make a watch to sell 100 at one million francs? Or a watch to sell 10,000 at 10,000 francs? Or 5,000 at 20,000 francs? And what should the watch look like? What movement should it have?

You're it –IWC's product manager and top designer. Let us know what you suggest as the next blockbuster watch from IWC , and a real business success...

Please post your entries, one per person, below by 12:01 a.m. (Schaffhausen time) by Monday, December 6, 2010. The winners will be selected shortly thereafter by random number drawing, so each entry has an equal chance of winning. There will be at least 20 winners, assuming at least 40 persons enter the drawing. In addition, all persons who enter this drawing and who also first posted on our forum in 2010 automatically will qualify for a complimentary issue of IWC's special magazine, WATCH International.

Winners and prize selection will be determined by me (using a random number generator) and all decisions are final and without recourse. Also, this drawing is my idea and there's no intent to borrow your great idea for the next IWC watch. But who knows?

The International Watch Company introduces the IWC Zu Chongzhi Perpetual

Named after Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi. Zu was an accomplished astronomer who calculated the values of time with unprecedented precision. His methods of interpolating and the usage of integration is far ahead of his time.

IWC's engineering expertise now allows the Chinese New Year to be calculated and displayed in a wrist watch with the same accuracy as IWC's perpetual calendar module - it will deviate by one day in 577 years. The Chinese New Year is celebrated on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice.

The IWC Zu Chongzhi Perpetual will display the Chinese New Year symbol opposite the year function on the watch dial. The twelve symbols denoting the year (2010 year of the tiger, 2011 year of the rabbit or hare, etc) will change with the advent of the Chinese New Year, thus the symbol will correctly move from the tiger to the hare on 3 February 2011 and will move 23rd January 2012 (Dragon), 10th February 2013 (Snake) and 31st January 2014 (Horse). It will correctly move every Chinese New Year for the next 577 years.

IWC have added another element to the watch, the current calendar year change function is powered from the calendar module and IWC provide a century slide for the watch. IWC have engineered the watch so with a simple change by the watchmaker, the slide can be powered from the Chinese New Year function thus allowing the Chinese Year to be displayed. The year 2011 corresponds to 4708 in the Chinese calendar and calendar slides for both the Gregorian calendar and the Chinese calendar are provided allowing the owner the option of having an IWC watchmaker change the year display at the owners request.

IWC are proud to combine the Chinese New Year function with a perpetual calendar watch, another first in mechanical engineering achivement.

For more on Zu Chongzhi, the Chinese calendar and its calculations please see the following:

Following the technical success of the IWC Deep Two, IWC should introduce the IWC Weather One, a watch with an integrated barometer that predicts the wheather. With a secondary dial, the watch can be used as an altimeter.

This pilot's watch will be a revival of the perfectest pilot/navigator mechanical watch ever made - the RAF Mark 11 in her last dial modification. I would call her the Mark 111.The watch must have the same or better a-magnetic properties (soft iron inner case). The case will be in stainless steel. Definitely no display back. The movement will be based on the cal 9828 (manual wound, no date). modified for hacking, seconds in center.

The dial, black matte, will display alternately 12 and 24 hours which can be changed through the crown, like changing the date. Activating the crown will simultaneously slow down the hands by 1/2 (I leave to a Master watchmaker how to solve this problem), and the 3 / 6 / 9 windows will change to 6 / 12 / 18 via a rotating disc underneath the dial. The triangle at 12 or 24 will not change. The hour markers for the 12 and 24 hour versions would have different shapes/sizes.

To introduce the watch I suggest a Limited Edition of 100 in ceramic as the next Collector's Forum Watch.

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime you find, you get what you need. Keith Richards, Mick Jagger.

What is the bestseller in the Portuguese line? I think it is ref.5001-07, and it should serve as a starting point.

Why not a Portuguese Perpetual Calendar with a minute repeater, instead of the actual Portuguese GC. I will add a 24h display coupled to a 24h repeating system. In doing so, it would be a true astronomical device. It should be in white metal (stainless steel (to increase sells), gold or platinum (to generate more profit)), with a silvered dial and moon. The hands and indices should be blue, the moon display being as seen on ref.5021-21. It shouldn't be larger than 44mm. The year display spare slide should have a common century with the actual one, to allow easy change in the end.

As most of the R&D is already done, the profit margin should be large enough.

The Portofino line needs a classical presence : take the actual VC Portofino and remove the moon display. Add a silvered or white dial and blue Breguet hands. And with a handwound movement. That is the starting point to the entire line. If ever a date display should be added, I will go for a dial display instead of a window. Finally, the case shouldn't be larger than 40mm and in noble metal, no steel here.

The pilots line should use the existing 80110 and 89360 movements in a smaller than 42 mm stainless steel case, with black mate dial and 24h display. No more crocs strap, but buffalo and/or calf instead. R&D already done on those calibres should help to keep price tag on the lower side.

My idea would be rather simple, a lady's version of the Portuguese automatic, with diameter 40-41 mm. This would be great both for the ladies and for small-wristed men like myself.In the ideal world, the 5000 movement and the Pellaton system should still fit in the smaller case, and of course this version would feature a see-through back.

Of course not a watch to show off! Of course a Pilot's watch and of course a watch I'd buy. But that's not the point. Because it's a watch that SELLS. If the price point is 25.000 Swiss francs it will sell 20.000 pieces a year - or even 25.000? Anyway - much more than can be produced. If the price point is 20.000 Swiss francs it will sell 100.000 pieces a year or more:

It's a new Pilot's chronograph. It looks very much like the current 3717, BUT it is 46 mm in diameter. It comes with the cal. 89xxx inhouse chrono movement with the counter subdials where the belong in the cal 89xxx. That's why there is space on the right side of the dial for a DAY-DATE window just like the current 3717 has but none of the cal 89xxx watches (by now). And on the left side of the dial there is a real altimeter measuring air pressure and showing in meters of altitude - looking a bit like the ones from vintage airplanes - like the date window has been on the 3786 double chrono or the Top Gun. The altimeter can be adjusted by a special crown. The altitude display consists of 4 wheels, one for each digit. More than 9999 m is not necessary because inside an aircraft that can go higher it will just show normal pressure and thus maybe something about 0 to 500 m, but that's another story :-(If the plane falls off into the ocean it can be switched measure water depth but only up to 20 m. It's not a real Diver's watch.Nevertheless - it's water resistant up to 120 m. It comes with either a steel case. You can choose between a brown buffalo, carbon or rubber strap or a very massive version of the current stainless steel bracelet.And there's another version of the watch (of course a little more costly) in matte black ceramic case with either the same strap versions (maybe black buffalo as well) and a black matte all ceramic bracelet.

As a "low end" version (or if the altimeter is too complicated ;-) ) the altimeter can be left away. Then on the left dial side there will only be a big fat IWC logo.

AND: you can choose if you want it with a soft iron inner case and stainless steel back - titanium in the ceramic version. Or if you want a display back. That's just to end the discussions what should have been done otherwise.

I guess I would - like millions of other people - sell my soul for a watch like that. ;-)

Please, forgive me for this infamy, that's the best I managed to achieve using photoshop :D

Anyway, the idea is simple, a chronograph and a UTC together, the old 3717 loses the calendar (I hate calendar windows :D) and gains a cardinal balance. A very full dial for a totally technical watch.

Apart from the sub-dials disposition which could be a little difficult with the calibers IWC adopts, there wouldn't be money to spend for researches, for further know-how etc. all the elements to build the watch are already home, with benefits to the overall costs.

Finally, this watch could represent a good product for a wide target, from beginners to medially sophisticated users, passing through watch tools lovers or simply fashion victims, it would work for anybody and it would be available at an affordable price (€ 5.500 with strap - € 6500 with bracelet).